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Canadian Gaming "Deals" and Discussion Thread 6: Sorry, We Can't Afford a New Thread
- Thread starter Lone_Prodigy
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I love the rock solid materials on Macbooks, but I was told to not get a Macbook for comp science (by my coworkers who are currently doing comp science courses). They didn't go into any detail, but they said to avoid them. If anyone has any history with programming, I'm curious why they told me that.
I also exclusively use MS's cloud and media services, so it sounds like a hassle to find a way to get it working on a Mac.
It's a Yoga 2 11". I've had it for 2 years and it wasn't too bad at first, but it slowed down to a crawl even after defrags and contact cleanups. The battery life was around 5-7 hours at first but with super casual use it went to like 3-4 hours after 2 years. There's no obvious way to get official battery replacements which is strange. There's a known issue on the Yoga 2 and 3 line where the screws near the hinge slowly come out. One day i found 2 screws in my backpack, but if I lost them I'd be so fucked.
Also, fuck fanless laptops. Maybe it was just this one but it would get super hot on anything that's not a table. Whenever I used it on my lap it would almost burn me after using it for 30 minutes doing simple tasks.
That Thinkpad sounds super nice though. Not sure how powerful they are though, a lot of other laptops seem to have way better specs for a better price.
My friend went through the same for his college comp sci program.
They said most of the software required a Windows OS, and that tech support from the professor and staff was heavily Windows oriented.
Mac OS was never recommended.
So if people are suggesting a Mac laptop booting Windows, I'm wondering what the issues are that are making people caution against one.
I find this topic to be one of the concerns about PCs. A desktop I can build, but is there any laptop manufacturer known for consistent good quality? IIRC, Toshiba rates quite well with Consumer Reports.
I find this topic to be one of the concerns about PCs. A desktop I can build, but is there any laptop manufacturer known for consistent good quality? IIRC, Toshiba rates quite well with Consumer Reports.
I've owned an Acer, Samsung and Dell Latitude; all of them performed well.
Dell has a line of laptops (Latitude) meant for professional use, mostly 14" ones. Toshiba (Satellite) and Lenovo (Thinkpad) also have a professional line of laptops, but these all tend to be pricey. These come with Intel CPUs and the latest ones have acceptable integrated graphics.
Samsung is great for everyday casual use and even gaming. If you're tight on cash, then I'd recommend an AMD laptop for great integrated graphics performance.
If you've got cash to burn, then get one with a dedicated GPU and an Intel CPU; MSI and ASUS are great for mid-high end gaming laptops.
lol holy fuck who are these comp sci people that are not recommending a Mac? Macs are the best comp sci computers. It's the standard. OS X is a Unix system and the best and most accessible one out there. If you are not using and learning Unix you are in a garbage comp sci program and get the fuck out immediately.
I remember noticing all the comp sci nerds in university switching to osx back in 2002 and being surprised because I had no idea that the new OS X was built on unix.
Remember this old ad?
I remember noticing all the comp sci nerds in university switching to osx back in 2002 and being surprised because I had no idea that the new OS X was built on unix.
Remember this old ad?
lol holy fuck who are these comp sci people that are not recommending a Mac? Macs are the best comp sci computers. It's the standard. OS X is a Unix system and the best and most accessible one out there. If you are not using and learning Unix you are in a garbage comp sci program and get the fuck out immediately.
I remember noticing all the comp sci nerds in university switching to osx back in 2002 and being surprised because I had no idea that the new OS X was built on unix.
Remember this old ad?
Windows OS is the recommended platform for comp sci, as I've been informed by friends at UofT, UoIT and Sheridan College.
I personally have no idea, as comp sci wasn't my program, lol
The Unix system I've come across during my undergrad was through GIS, and it was called Solaris.
BigJonsson
Member
Get an MDG
KingdomHeartsFan
Member
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00YV6BNTG/
Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection is $25 off, but its from QC so idk if its a French version?
Uncharted Nathan Drake Collection is $25 off, but its from QC so idk if its a French version?
That's not from Amazon, it's a third party seller. Amazon.ca price is $63.
KingdomHeartsFan
Member
That's why I was concerned, if it was from amazon I'd assume its the English version unless mentioned in the title.
Mysterious
Banned
Waterloo is UNIX (they technically use Linux Ubuntu, but Mac OS X is similar enough as a dev environment). For the software development courses, instead of using Visual Studio or some other Windows IDE, you're expected to have a Makefile to build your project. And they teach you UNIX shell scripting and command-line tools.
wtf? Literally every developer but one in my company uses a Mac. It's a much better environment than Windows for serious coding as far as I understand. Maybe they have some shitty IDE that requires Windows in their courses? Is it a student thing or something? I don't think you'll run into many developers who has used both OSes and says Windows is better.
When it comes to laptops, if you can afford it, I always recommend MacBook Pros. They're honestly a great value in that they do everything I find important in a laptop well at a price comparable to (if not cheaper) than comparable Windows ones. However the price is out of many budgets.
It was only like a short passing conversation since we were talking about school during breaks. He and his friend are both second/third year comp science people. They said something along the lines of 'they cost too much and not to bother with them'. Maybe they're just cheap?
But yeah, Macbook Pros look super insane, they're just way too expensive. My max range is $1000-ish.
Anyone can walk in and buy a membership. The only credit card Costco accepts is MasterCard. They also take debit and cash.
IIRC the only credit card was American Express until last year.
The Bookerman
Member
Don't do it.
Why do they do that ?
catpurrcat
Member
I second this. Been using an air for 3 years, and it's awesome. But now the pros are almost as thin and portable with added conveniences and a NICE screen.
Im only advocating Mac because after 25 years of PCs, this is the longest I've ever owned a system where I didn't notice any deterioration in battery, or software.
catpurrcat
Member
Look at RFD and Kijiji and eBay for how much ancient used macs still sell for.
Entry price reflects resale price.
You're talking about the box, right?
knacklover
Member
I think the Mac vs Windows is a bit off topic but for what it's worth, I think battery life and weight are two key factor when getting a laptop you will bring everyday to school. Mac used to be the solo leaders in this with the 7 hours battery with a solid design. Now you can get other brands with similar success.
You can easily run Windows on Mac and depending on the programming language you use, tools should be available on both OS. People at my Uni were all about Apple.
One of the power of Apple computer as a college student is the value they keep, you buy for 1200$ at the start of your bachelor and sell for 600$ at the end easily.
You can easily run Windows on Mac and depending on the programming language you use, tools should be available on both OS. People at my Uni were all about Apple.
One of the power of Apple computer as a college student is the value they keep, you buy for 1200$ at the start of your bachelor and sell for 600$ at the end easily.
Costco negotiates a lower rate for the merchant fee they're charged so they don't pay so much to the cc companies. They probably get that lower rate by making it exclusive to one cc company.
socksfelloff
Member
Macbooks are absolutely worth the money. The only possible reason to recommend windows over osx, for software development, is if you need visual studio. Osx is a better environment a million times over. Windows doesn't even have a proper terminal shell.
I understand the course being tailored for windows and you should run the OS they want you to. Run Windows on a macbook.
I understand the course being tailored for windows and you should run the OS they want you to. Run Windows on a macbook.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
Woahh finally a decent sale on PS+ and PSN cards! And I'm not in the country! :/
Same thing happened with Staples. $20 off over $100.
Sapiens
Member
bullshit, if they were 'serious' about best for development, they would be using a true linux os
you can save 500$ get a better spec'd windows laptop (since u rarely can get a non os laptop) then throw debian or fedora or arch on it for development
if they're using macbooks then they're mainly doing because
1) they have the money, which i respect
2) build quality, but i say u can get a better build laptop for the same price with better specs
3) hivemind mentality that macbooks/os x is better for dev
you can save 500$ get a better spec'd windows laptop (since u rarely can get a non os laptop) then throw debian or fedora or arch on it for development
if they're using macbooks then they're mainly doing because
1) they have the money, which i respect
2) build quality, but i say u can get a better build laptop for the same price with better specs
3) hivemind mentality that macbooks/os x is better for dev
It's mostly for ease of technical support. Since only Apple makes Macs, it's far easier to support and maintain. For schools the cost is passed down on students, for workplaces, it's more of the third option, some hivemind/elite status.
No one at my workplace uses macs, and we clock in about 35k days worth of software development a year.
binarymelon
Member
The developer community has built up quite a few nice workflows and dev tools for mac over the last few years, which just makes everything a breeze to do. I'm not saying you couldn't do everything on linux as well, it just easier on a mac and you will easily make up the cost difference in your productivity. Development environment on mac and deployment to linux is just the ideal environment in my experience.
Perhaps more relevantly to the original question; most laptop manufacturers are great nowadays, and the primary advantages to buying a Macbook (battery life and hardware quality) either no longer exist or aren't nearly as exclusive qualities as they were years ago (although while not the best value, it's still decent for what you get), leaving resell value as the main reason to buy one. So if you value that or the OS, go for that.
Being in the market for a laptop right now is rough. My laptop is on it's last legs and there couldn't be a worse time for this to be happening. Economy in the shitter so prices are jacked up, sales haven't been all that, I'm doing more and more writing on my thesis now and my laptop can only keep itself on for an hour and a half, and I'm pretty much just scraping by financially with the amount of funding I get. Seeing an equivalent laptop in the US for $300-500 less hurts especially.
Also Dell's site is a nightmare to navigate, especially during sales where it won't necessarily show you the sale price if you browse regularly.
Being in the market for a laptop right now is rough. My laptop is on it's last legs and there couldn't be a worse time for this to be happening. Economy in the shitter so prices are jacked up, sales haven't been all that, I'm doing more and more writing on my thesis now and my laptop can only keep itself on for an hour and a half, and I'm pretty much just scraping by financially with the amount of funding I get. Seeing an equivalent laptop in the US for $300-500 less hurts especially.
Also Dell's site is a nightmare to navigate, especially during sales where it won't necessarily show you the sale price if you browse regularly.
Jesus Christ....
sure.
The new Dells seem really solid. I couldn't find any Windows laptops under like $2000 that had the battery life and portability I wanted back when I got my laptop but I think things have changed. That said, the convenience of Apple stores for repair shouldn't be understated.
And yeah those kids sound like your typical "lol macs are for hipsters who don't know computers" elitists who actually don't know computers. Like it was said earlier, outside of Visual Studio it seems to be the standard now.
And yeah those kids sound like your typical "lol macs are for hipsters who don't know computers" elitists who actually don't know computers. Like it was said earlier, outside of Visual Studio it seems to be the standard now.
User 479360
Banned
We need sales on Microsoft cards.
Shao Kahn Brewing a Stew
Banned
Macbook are awesome. Get it!
Superstore clearance is basically the most YMMV thing that existsSo is this YMMV? I missed out on Staples' error
channel your inner merchant. buy the lot, and sell to the nearest dollar. make pennies
I did quick math on flipping them in the bst thread and decided it wasn't worth it
Care to expand on your point?
Depending on if you are old guard or new guard, the OS of choice in new companies today is OS X. Walk into any San Francisco startup and you will see everyone using a mac.
lol holy fuck who are these comp sci people that are not recommending a Mac? Macs are the best comp sci computers. It's the standard. OS X is a Unix system and the best and most accessible one out there. If you are not using and learning Unix you are in a garbage comp sci program and get the fuck out immediately.
I remember noticing all the comp sci nerds in university switching to osx back in 2002 and being surprised because I had no idea that the new OS X was built on unix.
Remember this old ad?
Except that you can buy a windows laptop and dual boot linux and learn it on there. No reason to spend so much on a mac. It offers absolutely nothing you can't get from windows/linux combo. If you're someone just doing web dev or something then fine, a mac is cool. But clearly you're not someone who's ever used something like Visual Studio. And I don't know about pure comp sci, but if you're in software engineering I absolutely have some software used for boards and stuff that is only on windows or is a pain on linux (and probably not even offered on macs)
BigJonsson
Member
You guys are still going on about Mac vs PC? Just continue that in an existing Mac vs PC thread
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